friends, if we may so speak-during the period when he was Crown Prince, were (and they still are) Humboldt, Bunsen, Von Gerlach, (the General,) Von Græben, (the General and Count,) Von Arnim, and others of similar character; and if a man, be he prince or otherwise, is to be judged of by the company he keeps, as the old adage asserts, we think that Frederick William IV. is fairly entitled to the favorable opinion of mankind. But let this pass for what it is worth. The statement we have just made is true to the letter.

In his younger years Frederick William IV. displayed some traits of character which gave no little uneasiness to his friends, and which, in fact, made him not a few enemies. There was a certain hauteur in his manners that was offensive. His temper was quick, excitable, irritable even, and impatient. Withal, being a man of great wit and humor, he indulged too often in its use, and even sometimes in sarcasm-very dangerous weapons, whether in the hands of prince or common man. Time, and the good advice of his friends, especially the influence of the best of all his friends, his beloved Queen,* have done much to overcome these infirmities and perversities of character. Still, we apprehend that there is need of further attention to this portion of the field of self-culture. Impatience, precipitation, and consequently rashness, are evils to which we are inclined to think his Majsty is peculiarly exposed.

At length, his father having gone down to the tomb, Frederick William IV. was

We have heard many anecdotes at Berlin, respecting the Queen's happy influence over her royal consort, some of them, doubtless, apocryphal enough. The following is, we have reason to believe, true; at any rate it is beautiful. The Queen early remarking the defects in the King's character referred to, endeavored to correct them, telling him that he should try to control his temper better, &c. But he used to say laughingly, “Oh, I'll do better when I become King." But she replied, "You ought to get the victory over your passions while you are a prince." It so happened that soon after he had ascended the throne, the Queen overheard him one day, talking boisterously with one of the ministers of his father, with whom he was probably displeased. Tremblingly alive to the honor of her husband, she ventured to go into the room where be and the minister were, and without taking any notice of them, she walked towards a window, apparently looking for something. The King hastened to her, and said, "My dear, what are you looking for? She replied in a low tone, "I am looking for the King!" He understood the hint, and ac companying her to the door, thanked her for her kindness, and governed his temper better during the rest of the interview with the minister,

called to ascend the throne of Prussia, (on the 7th of June, 1840,) in the 45th year of his age, and in the vigor of his strength. There were some things connected with the double event-the death of the father and the accession of the son-which were very touching. The King was from his youth distinguished for filial piety, and ever entertained for his father the greatest reverence. He was constantly with him in his last sickness, which was a painful and protracted one. Vast multitudes assembled in front of the palace when they heard that the old King was dying; and when his death was announced, they waited in silence for the new King to show himself on the elevated steps. This he did with great difficulty, being overcome with emotion.* All he could do was to bow in grateful acknowledgment to the multitude when they saluted him as their King, and cried out, "God save the King." In a few days the oath of allegiance was administered in his presence, to all the great officers of state. When this was done, he came forward, of his own accord, and in the presence of a vast multitude, he swore with uplifted hand, that he would govern the kingdom according to the principles of truth and righteousness, so far as he could ascertain them.t

No sooner was Frederick William IV. seated on the throne of his fathers, than he set about the discharge of the important duties devolved upon him. Seven years and more have now passed away, during which he has been unremittingly occupied with the cares of his office. They have been seven eventful years, during which seeds have been sown that will bring forth a great harvest-whether of good or of evil remains to be seen-both in the Church

*We have been told on good authority that he not ately around him, and especially his excellent wife, only called on his pious friends who were immedi"to pray for him," saying "that he never needed their prayers so much in his life," but that he also wrote to an ambassador of his kingdom, in whose religious character he had great confidence, a very little time after his father's death, to this effect: "My dear, my father has just deceased, and I am going to ascend the throne! Pray for me, O pray for me, that God would give me the grace and wisdom I need to enable me to govern this people aright."

place of the formal coronation which prevails in + This ceremony may be considered as taking the other monarchies of Europe; for the Kings of Prussia are never crowned. This is a remarkable regal governments. exception to a custom which has long prevaied in

and State of Prussia. Shortly after the accession of Frederick William IV., such of his friends as were friends of peace, were not a little concerned lest he might get entangled in the difficulty between France and the other great powers, in relation to the "Eastern Question," as it was called. They were afraid lest his military propensities might carry him too far, in a moment of great excitement, when (in the month of October of that year, 1840) war appeared to be inevitable. But the threatening storm passed away, and Prussia and the rest of Europe repose in peace. And long may it continue! The limits which we must assign to this notice of the life and character of Frederick William IV., will not permit us to speak of all the subjects of interest to which his mind has been directed, nor of all the measures of importance which have been adopted. The most we can do is to indicate such as are likely to have the greatest bearing upon the welfare of Prussia and Germany, if not upon the interests of humanity entire.

And, first, it is a pleasant task to record that the present King of Prussia has inherited the spirit which has prevailed so much in his illustrious house, in regard to the proper encouragement of institutions of learning. It was the chiefest glory of the reign of his father that he fostered seminaries of every class, for the diffusion of science, and of knowledge in all its branches. The present monarch has availed himself of every opportunity to enrich the six universities of his realm by attracting to them men of talents as professors. To accomplish this, no expense has been spared. The veteran philosopher Schelling was induced to leave Munich, and establish himself at Berlin, five or six years ago. To the same university the distinguished jurisconsult, Stahl, was drawn from Erlangen, to deliver lectures on law. When the King of Hanover pursued such a course as drove several of the best professors from the University of Göttingen, the King of Prussia immediately offered them posts in the universities of his kingdom. He seems to delight in doing everything in his power to make Prussia, in learning and learned men, to Germany, what the republic of Athens Greece, or what Greece was to the rest of

was to

the world.* Indeed, he has done almost too much in this way, for he has, as it were, impoverished some of the other parts of Germany. He has liberally encouraged the fine arts also, and drawn to his kingdom some excellent artists.f

But the subject of religion, or rather, the state of the churches in Prussia, is one which has greatly engrossed the King's thoughts ever since he came to the throne. We will endeavor to make this question clear to the reader. We begin with stating that the King is a decided Protestant, and holds with great earnestness what is called the evangelical system of doctrine; in other words, the doctrines held and taught by the Reformers. He has a great abhorrence of the rationalistic and pantheistic heresies, which have crept into the Protestant church so extensively, through a want of the proper maintenance of discipline on the part of those who should have guarded the sacred portals of the temple. He deems these errors to be fundamental, and utterly subversive, not only of the Gospel, but also of the foundations of all sound morality. And he is right. But how are these heresies to be expelled from the national Church of Prussia, where they have nestled for years? This is a very grave question, and hard to answer. His Majesty's project for doing this is as follows:-To give the church autocracy, or independence, and induce it to do the work of restoring purity of doctrine to all its branches.

To do this, he convoked a synod of some seventy-five or six members, a year ago last summer, at Berlin. With the exception of some ten or twelve individuals, this synod was composed of men of evangelical doctrines, more or less distinctly held and enunciated. To draw together such a synod would have been impossible, if the

It is really delightful to go into the Royal Library of Berlin, which is also the University Library, and see the large collection of well-selected books which is there. We were assured by the keepers, when we were there a little more than a year ago, that it then contained 600,000 volumes, and is rapidly increasing. About $40,000 are annually expended to maintain and enlarge this library.

There are several very distinguished artists in Germany at this time. Rauch and Danneker are excellent sculptors. So is Steinhauer, of Bremen. There is an admirable group of his, Leander and Hero, in the royal palace at Berlin. It is a beau. tiful and exquisite affair.

choice of members had been left to the churches; for, of nearly eight thousand Protestant ministers in Prussia, the overwhelming majority have departed from the evangelical system, as the "faith that saves" is called. The Synod was, therefore, a packed one, in some sense, else so large a majority of evangelical delegates would not have been there.

When this body came together, the King informed them that he had convoked them to ask their advice on several very important subjects, saying, however, that he should not consider himself bound to follow their advice. At the same time, he exhorted them to be very careful as to what advice they gave him, for that he should be very likely to follow it. Among the subjects submitted to the consideration of the Synod was that of recommending a Confession of Faith for the National Church, whose hearty adoption should be required of all who would be pastors in it. The Synod recommended, in the main, that of Augsburg. Another subject was the nature, or rather the terms and extent, of the oath or subscription to be required of all candidates for the ministerial or pastoral office. This was a perplexing question. It was found difficult to get clear of a quatenus*—that word which has opened the door to so much controversy, and what is worse, to so much heresy. At length the Synod decided on this point, and all others that were submitted to them, and the members returned home after a session of some three months.

It remains to be seen what the King will do. It is probable that, by this course, he will find a Confession of Faith which he will proclaim by edict to be that of the National Church, the Church supported by the government. By requiring an ex animo adoption of this symbol of doctrine, on the part of those who are, or who would be, pastors in that Church, and by giving at the same time a large measure of

The word quatenus is in fact a double one, and is composed of quâ tenus, and means "according to" or "as far as." It was introduced into the subscription to creeds when the person who made it engaged to receive the creed or confession in question, as far as it agreed (in his judgment) with the Sacred Scriptures. It is a word which has played no small part in the theological controversies in the Christian world, especially in Protestant countries.

religious liberty, or toleration rather, his Majesty may in time, by bringing all the patronage of the government to bear on the subject, restore external uniformity, and avowed purity of doctrine, to the National Church. The plan is far-reaching and well-contrived, but we doubt both its wisdom and its justice. Perhaps the King, in his laudable zeal for the renovation of the National Church, could do nothing better. But it savors too much of a wisdom that belongs to this world, rather than that which comes from above. When a good king undertakes to promote religion, or any other good thing, he is in great danger of doing too much.

For ourselves, we are inclined to think that the true way to bring about the regeneration of the fallen Protestant Churches on the Continent, which are all connected with the State, and have been corrupted by the unhallowed alliance, would be to dissolve that union, and throw them upon the voluntary support of the people. In that case, truth would have to depend on its own resources, under the blessing of its great Author, and must in the issue prevail; whilst error, inadequate to meet the demands of humanity, having no sufficiency in itself, and above all, no promise of heavenly succor to fall back upon, must fail in the struggle and yield the victory. We are quite sure that, although for a time religion might apparently lose ground, and great confusion occur, yet a pure Christianity-the Christianity of the apostolic ages, and such as the reformers strove to bring back to the world-must arise like a new creation, from a temporary chaos. The King of Prussia holds a different opinion on the subject, and hopes, in avoiding a "disruption," to work out the restoration of pure doctrine to a Church where it has so extensively been lost. Time, which resolves so many things now doubtful, will decide whether he has chosen the better course or not.

Another and very weighty subject has engaged much of the attention of Frederick William IV., from his accession to the throne to the present time, and will probably do so for years to come. It is that of giving a Constitution to his people. The nation, although they bore with extraordinary patience the non-fulfilment of the promise of the late King, were in

great hopes that the present monarch would grant this boon, without delay, upon his ascending the throne. It is understood that such hopes were encouraged by royal declarations. Several years, however, passed away before anything was done, and that "deferred hope which "makes the heart sick," began to be deeply felt throughout Prussia. What the cause of this procrastination may have been, the world has not been informed. Perhaps it was opposition from the King's own family, or his cabinet, both of which, it is believed, were at first, and for a long time, against the project. Perhaps it was opposition from abroad; for it is not likely that Austria, to say nothing of Russia, could have heard, without alarm and remonstrance, even the rumor of the intended royal gift. And it is well known that Wurtemburg, and some other petty German kingdoms and principalities, were greatly concerned, and decidedly opposed to the proposition. But it is most likely that the delay was occasioned by the difficulty which the King experienced in his attempts to devise a constitution which would satisfy his own views of what was needed. Nor is this wonderful. Of all handiwork to which a monarch might be set, we are inclined to think that Constitution-making would be precisely that at which he would be found most awkward.

But whatever were the causes of the adjournment of this matter, it was at last announced to the world-if not with a heraldic flourish of trumpets, at least with extensive out-givings by the press and in conversation that the long-expected constitution would soon be forthcoming. Accordingly, on the 11th of April last, all the eight provincial assemblies were convoked in Berlin, to constitute a general Diet of the kingdom, to which the Constitution was to be submitted. This body, when convened, was found to number more than eight hundred members,-nobles, burgesses, and peasants-for the three classes of the inhabitants are represented in the provincial assemblies. We are inclined to think that his Majesty committed a serious blunder in calling together so large a body, composed of men elected for a purpose altogether different. But perhaps he could choose none more suita

The day appointed for opening the Diet was the Sabbath, because the King thought that the serious work to be done befitted the sacred day; nor were due religious observances wanting. On this occasion, his Majesty made a long speech, (he is a fine speaker, and may be fairly styled the orator-king of our times,) in which he endeavored to set forth his views of the subject. What those views were on all points, it is not very easy to gather from the translations of the royal speech which we find in the English and French papers. One thing, however, is not very doubtful-it is, that the King had no idea of giving what we should call a complete constitution, well defined and sufficiently comprehensive-far from it. In fact, the submitted project was very much such an affair as the extorted concession of King John at Runnymede. With the exception of a considerable control over the national purse, it gave little or nothing to the Diet beyond the privilege of discussing, and giving advice on, such subjects as the government might submit to it!

It is easy to conceive that no little disappointment was felt in the Diet when the royal scheme was laid before it, and in the nation when they saw it set forth in the newspapers-although it must be confessed that expectation had not been very high.

The Diet, however, lost no time in proceeding with the work of organization, and then commenced the discussion of the subjects which were submitted to it in the royal address, as well as those which were from time to time laid before it by the minister whose duty it was to act as the organ of the government. A session of several weeks ensued, during which very many able and animated discussions took place, embracing a very wide range, and including often subjects on which the government had no desire whatever to learn the opinions of the Diet-such as the competency of the body to decide on the qualifications of its own members, &c. In these discussions a great deal of talent was elicited, as well as an unexpected display of capacity to grapple with the most difficult questions originated by the exigency. Several men of commanding intellect and eloquence were revealed, if we may so